Strawberry Romance
by Kiana Black
Summary: Series of NaLu shots to 100 themes. First one was Stardust. New one is Siblings. "It's okay. Everyone in Fiore knows who our parents are. They wouldn't dare touch us." Miles and Nene are the children of Lucy and Natsu. When they run into some trouble, Miles decides to take care of it himself. Will he make his father proud?
1. Stardust

**A/N: Corny? Yes. Cliche? Probably. Cute? I hope so. :) Small story written to the 100 themes from akikorossella on deviantart. I will be doing more, however not all will be from Fairy Tail. **

**Disclaimer: SyncxArietta does not own Fairy Tail. **

_SyncxArietta_

**Stardust**

She was ignoring him, not that he noticed or cared. That fact was something that annoyed her more than the initial reason she was ignoring him.

"Seriously," she grumbled, sitting next to the fire they'd set up and curling into herself for warmth. "Stupid Natsu," she glared over at where he and Happy were fishing, laughing hard.

While she usually liked him as he was, happy and carefree unless he was in battle, at that moment she found his laugh fueling her anger.

She turned back to the fire, her scowl deepening as the night's events replayed in her mind. Honestly, she knew she'd overreacted. She knew she had no real reason to still be mad, except for the fact that Natsu hadn't even acknowledged her anger! If he had apologized or cowered in fear of her anger at the very least! Instead, he laughed, tossed her a fish and then went off with Happy.

She almost wished Erza were with them, just so the scarlet-haired swordswoman could beat Natsu into submission.

"Ahhhh," Lucy groaned, shoving her face into her knees angrily. Really, all he had done was ruin her meal, spit his disgusting mouthful of meat all over her, and spill his drink on her brand new book she had just bought. Mind you, that last one was Lucy's fault for being stupid enough to have it out at dinnertime. She knew what Natsu was like when eating.

Regardless, she had expected an apology. Instead, she got a laugh. From both Natsu and Happy.

"Oiii, Lucy, are you still sulking?" Happy asked as he came flying towards her with a fish. "Want one? But only one!"

Lucy swatted him away, glaring at the fire. She didn't want his stupid fish. She wanted a stupid apology. Was that really so hard to ask for? She thought they were friends!

"What's wrong, Luce?" Natsu said as he sat down cross-legged beside her, a fish in one hand and another on a stick ready to roast over the fire. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Eh? Why would I be happy, you moron?" Lucy snapped, unable to reel in her simmering anger. She clenched her hands into fists and kept her gaze on the fire and arms squeezed around her legs.

Natsu leaned forward to stick his fish into the flame, and Lucy absently noted how he was going to burn it black. "Look," Natsu said softly, "at the sky. You've been too pouty to notice but…"

Lucy wanted to ignore him, she wanted to stay angry but she couldn't deny her curiosity. She looked up on a sigh, ready to brush off whatever it was he wanted to show her but her words were taken from her when she spotted the night sky.

They travelled a lot, and Lucy had seen a lot of starry skies but this was… amazing. She was unaware of the grin that had spread across her face as she stared at the bright constellations. She was unaware of her posture relaxing, of her fists uncurling, of her eyes softening as her anger disappeared.

"Pretty," she murmured absently. "Look! There's the Milky Way! Do you see it?"

"Yeah," Natsu said pulling his flaming fish from the fire, gulping it down and looking up as well. "Cool, right?"

Lucy continued to point out the constellations excitedly for the remainder of the night, with Natsu listening absently and Happy munching on his fish. Her earlier fury was gone but she never noticed.

Later, she would appreciate just how skilled Natsu really was in noticing her anger and calming her down. So skilled, he could do it without her knowledge. The thought would bring a smile to her face and she would briefly sigh in happiness at the friendship the two shared.


	2. Siblings

**A/N: This one is to the theme of 'brothers and sisters' on akikorossella's deviantart. ****Miles and Nene are Natsu and Lucy's kids. Enjoy :)**

**Siblings**

"Nene!"

"It isn't my fault!"

"Oh? Then whose is it? Gilbert's?"

"Pff. Very funny, Miles. Gilbert is a cat, and he's at home!"

The ten-year-old boy, Miles, smacked his forehead. "I wasn't being serious, you idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot!" seven-year-old, Nene, stomped her foot, stopping in the middle of the road and flipping pink hair out of her eyes.

"Just shut up and keep up or I'll leave you behind!" Miles kept walking. He knew she would follow. They had to hurry and she would be too scared to stay alone. He hated taking her to the park. She got distracted over everything, walked as slow as a snail – those were the reasons they were in this situation – and she was a moron sometimes.

"Miles!" Nene whined, running to catch up to him. She latched onto his arm, tugging to pull him to a stop.

He growled slightly, yanking his arm free and making her stumble. He looked down at her, ready with another scornful remark, but halted at the look on her face. "What now?"

"The man," she whispered, staring up at Miles with fear-filled brown eyes. "The man in the long coat who has been following us. He's still there."

Miles chewed his cheek and then forced an unconcerned look. "I told you, already. It's okay. Everyone in Fiore knows who our parents are. They wouldn't dare touch us. So just keep walking and stop worrying about him."

The little girl wasn't convinced though. She grabbed her brother's coat with trembling fingers. "Look, I'm sorry for getting in a fight with Rina. I won't do it again."

Her fight with little Rina was what had delayed them. They should have left the park an hour ago but Rina and Nene started fighting over whose dad was better. As per usual.

Miles sighed, reaching down to take his sister's hand and tug her along with him. "It's fine. Let's just focus on getting home for now," he squeezed her hand. "What are you even worried about? If that man has an issue with us, I'll take him out myself."

Nene nodded, smiling a little. "Oh yeah! I can help! Happy gave me mama's old whip," she giggled.

"Nene," Miles groaned, glaring at her. "She'll kill us both."

"I just borrowed it," Nene said. "Besides, I'll blame Happy."

"Happy's too good at getting out of –" Miles cut himself off. The man had gotten closer. He gripped his sister's hand tighter and pulled her, forcing her to keep up to his pace.

"Miles," she whined, squeezing his hand.

He made an abrupt, and probably stupid, decision. He turned to face the man, simultaneously pushing his sister behind him, and pulled out Cancer's key. "All right, old man, what do you want?"

"Oho," the man laughed, stopping as well, and placing a hand on his dark hat. "You're a Celestial Spirit just like your mama, brat?"

Miles pushed some of his blond hair out of his eyes and held up his key. "Answer me,"

"I'm a man who was defeated by your runt of a father, many years ago. I've finally gotten out of prison and I've come for revenge, of course," the man tipped his hat back, revealing dark eyes and light coloured hair.

Miles laughed. "On his kids? That's hardly fair. You got a problem, you take it up with my old man, not my sister and me."

"Miles," Nene said again, nervously.

He licked his dry lips, squeezed her hand, and whispered, "Go home, I'll take care of this."

"But…"

"Just go," he snapped. He didn't care what happened to him, he wasn't going to let his little sister get hurt. His parents would kill him.

"Miles," she whispered. "I'll bring papa back!" And off she went, hurrying as fast as could with her little legs.

The man snorted. "Now that that precious moment is over, let's get to business kid. I don't care if the brat gets your father. In fact, that's what I want. But before he gets here, you'll be dead, so your papa," he mocked, "can witness the death of his little boy."

"Pff," Miles chuckled. "That's pathetic. _Open the Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer_!" With a flash of light, the Celestial Spirit Cancer stood between Miles and the man. "Cancer could give you a nice trim, if you'd like."

"Miles, you too could use a snip," Cancer said and Miles waved it away.

The man laughed again. "Bring it, boy. Without your father's fire magic, I bet you're useless."

"Hardly," Miles said calmly. "Cancer."

The Spirit lunged forward, his scissors snipping wildly. The man dodged left, then right. He pulled out a small, circular object and held it out, as Cancer got close. The crab spirit disappeared with a flash of light.

"What did you do?" Miles demanded, jerking in surprise. "What did you do with Cancer?" His mom would so kill him if something bad happened to the Spirit.

The man laughed again. Miles found him even more annoying. "Tell me!" he snapped.

"This," he held up the object, "is a magic mirror. I bought it from a very shady guy back in –"

"Old man, I don't care. Just tell me what it did to my Spirit," Miles growled.

The man looked offended. "Brat. Just like your father. Ooh, I hate that pink-haired dragon slayer!"

Miles clenched his teeth. "Seriously," he mumbled. "You're getting on my nerves."

"Oh, very well! Your spirit just got trapped in the mirror, that's all! My, you're touchy. If you break this mirror, your little crab will come back just fine. As will all the other pathetic people trapped in here. You're next, blondie."

The man began to walk towards him, and Miles stood still, perfectly calm. This made the man pause, his eyebrows lifted. "Scared?"

Miles snorted. "In your dreams, old man." He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the other key his mother had given him. "_Open the Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!_"

"Shit!" the man hissed, holding his arm up to block Scorpio's flash of light. "You had more keys?"

"Scorpio," Miles said, "be careful of that strange circle thing. It can trap you in it if he points it at you. Aim for it. Break it. Cancer's stuck in there."

"Got it," Scorpio grinned. "_Sand Spear!_"

"Ahhhhhh!" the man screamed, covering his face with the hand holding the mirror. Scorpio's attack hit the mirror, causing it to shatter, and send the man flying.

Cancer appeared, along with a variety of different mages, all wearing expressions of bewilderment. Miles sent Cancer and Scorpion back, the stress of having too many gates open taking hold. He collapsed to his knees, cursing. He wished he were as strong as his mom.

The man groaned, sitting up only to be faced with many angry mages. "Now now," he tried.

Miles grinned slightly and then heard his name. "Miles! Miles!" it was Nene and she was shaking his arm. He looked at her, where she was suddenly kneeled beside him. He looked up, meeting his father's grin.

"Hey kiddo, good job," Natsu Dragneel snickered as he leaned down and thrust Miles over his shoulder. "Who's that guy, anyway?"

"I told you, papa, he said you kicked his ass a long time ago," Nene said, taking her father's free hand.

"Dad! I can walk!" Miles protested but Natsu ignored him.

"Eh, I don't remember him. Hah, my kid sure showed him though! Wait till I tell Lucy!" Natsu patted Miles back repeatedly as he spoke, causing the boy to wince. He sighed though and let his father carry him home. He was too tired anyway.

"Good job sending your sister home too, Miles," Natsu said once he'd calmed. "Family comes first, always!" the dragon slayer snickered again.

Miles sighed again, relaxing on his dad's shoulder and closing his eyes. "I know, old man," he muttered and felt himself drifting to the sound of his sister's chatter and father's laughter.


	3. To be a Parent

**A/N: This is to the theme of 'parents' on akikorossella's deviantart. This is connected to the previous one-shot, Siblings, but back when Miles was a baby.**

**To be a Parent**

"Wahhhh!"

Natsu winced, picking Miles up from the crib yet again. He had just set him down, thinking the baby was asleep when his eyes snapped back open with a loud wail. This baby just didn't want to sleep.

The father had tried everything. He sang – badly – to Miles, paced the room chatting up a storm, threw him up and down a couple times – something Lucy would have had a fit at – sat in the rocking chair for an hour. Why wouldn't the kid sleep?

Natsu was so unbelievably tired. Now he knew how Lucy felt, and this was the reason he was doing it in the first place. Lucy had gotten little to no sleep in the last month. She hardly had enough energy to even leave the house lately. Natsu felt terrible for it, so he insisted he take care of Miles for a bit while she slept.

Bad idea.

This was only his second night and he was ready to give up. Anyone who knew Natsu Dragneel knew he was not a man who gave up. Ever. So it would come as a surprise that a baby could make him do so.

"Come on, big guy, go to sleep for papa," Natsu cooed, smiling down at his son.

Miles gave another cry in response.

"What do you want?" Natsu moaned. "I've changed your diaper," he shuddered, "three times. You've had who knows how many bottles. I lost count after the third one."

He walked from the nursery into the living room, and over to the shelves with the pictures. Cradling Miles, carefully, in one arm, he picked up a photo of himself and Lucy. "Look, bud, there's mama and papa. That was taken at the guild, the day we found out you were in mama's belly. Oh man, that was a great day. You should have seen everyone's faces. Especially Gray's. I didn't know what to think though. I was gonna be a dad. Do you know how scary that was? The only dad I ever knew was a dragon!"

Natsu snickered. "Igneel's your grandfather. You'll meet him someday."

Miles gurgled a bit, his small fist reaching up to Natsu's face. Natsu grinned and caught his son's hand, marvelling for the millionth time at how little it was. "But it won't be little for long, will it," he said aloud. "You're gonna grow up to be strong and awesome just like me, right?" he laughed. "Wonder what magic you'll use?"

Miles grabbed Natsu's white scarf with his other hand and Natsu smiled. "Come on, Miles, let's try this again!" he headed back to the nursery, still murmuring to his son. He placed the baby into the crib and Miles reached up to the mobile of cats above him.

Natsu smiled and turned the mobile so it would play music, then sat in the rocking chair beside the crib. Miles turned his little head to look at him. "Go to sleep now, big guy."

The dragon slayer let his own head fall to the side, resting on the back of his chair and felt his eyes close. Finally, he thought. He could get some shuteye too. Miles had calmed down enough to go to –

"Wahhhh!"

Natsu groaned and stood back up. He reached into the crib and took his son into his arms. "What is it?" Natsu sang out. "Seriously, Miles. Why won't you go to sleep? Why can't babies talk! This would be easier if you could just _tell _me what you _want_!"

"Maybe you're just not listening," a voice said and a small blue cat with wings flew into the room.

"Happy!" Natsu greeted, grinning. "What are you doing up?"

The cat yawned, sitting on the edge of Miles' crib. "Who could sleep with him around?" Happy whined. "Why don't you just get Lucy?"

"No way!" Natsu said immediately. "I told her I could handle this, and I will."

"But Natsu, it's three in the morning and he's still wide awake!" Happy protested.

"Then I'm doing something wrong," Natsu decided. "Happy, what do babies want?"

The cat shrugged. "Fish?"

"I don't think so," Natsu shook his head solemnly. "He's not hungry. He doesn't need his diaper changed. I just don't get it!" he rubbed his pink hair with his free hand and stared down at his son. "I suck at this."

"No," the cat said. "I don't know what to do either. Face it, we need Lucy."

"What would Lucy do?" Natsu said to himself, remembering the times he'd come out in the middle of the night to see her with Miles. She sat in the rocking chair, told him stories and fed him bottles. Natsu had done all of that.

"Maybe Miles just likes Lucy better?" Happy suggested.

Natsu looked horrified. "Don't say that! Kids don't pick favourites. Do they?" Natsu was seriously worried. He didn't want his son to like Lucy better! Of course, he wouldn't blame Miles - Natsu liked Lucy a lot too - but he wanted Miles to like him better!

Happy snickered. "Sure they do!"

"What would you know?" Natsu grumbled, pouting. Miles gurgled again, playing with his father's scarf. The dragon slayer sighed, smiling involuntarily, "He's happy now."

"Aye," said Happy. "Maybe he just wants to be with you?"

This made Natsu smile more as he stared down at his son. "All right, big guy. Whatever…. makes you happy," Natsu said between a yawn.

Happy curled up in Mile's crib. Natsu began to tell Miles the story of how he and Lucy first met – again. Happy joined in once in a while with his own input.

"And then the giant mermaid blew both me and Lucy away too! Really, Miles, never make Aquarius mad! She holds grudges," Happy said seriously, his voice hoarse from lack of sleep.

The next time Natsu looked down at Miles, his son was asleep. Natsu knew for sure this time. His little chest was moving up and down slowly, evenly. Natsu smiled sleepily, and decided he was too tired to place Miles back in his crib. He closed his own eyes and fell asleep to the sound of both his sons' breathing.

* * *

><p>Lucy gasped at the sight that met her eyes in the morning. Her husband was out cold in the rocking chair with his mouth open. He was snoring so loudly that she was surprised he didn't wake the baby sleeping in his arm.<p>

Happy was curled on Natsu's leg, also fast asleep. Little Miles was snuggled comfortably in his father's arm. Lucy leaned against the doorframe for a moment, studying her little family with watery eyes.

She had heard Miles crying last night and it had taken everything she had not to go help Natsu. She'd come to check a couple times, staying out of sight and listening. She knew Natsu didn't want her help. He wanted to prove he could do this, so she let him.

And he did great.

She could hardly believe she was a mother. She had a son, and a husband. If only she could go back and tell her seventeen-year-old self the news…

With a small sigh of happiness, she shook herself from her thoughts and walked to her family. She carefully reached out to take Miles from Natsu but the dragon slayer woke up with a start, his arm wrapping protectively around his son before he realized it was only Lucy.

"Oh," he murmured tiredly. "G'morning Luce,"

She smiled, bending to kiss him. "Morning," she said. "How was it?"

Natsu sighed, staring down at the still sleeping Miles. "Well. Remember how I said raising Miles would be just as easy as raising Happy?"

Lucy nodded, remembering the conversation from back when she was still pregnant. She had very bluntly told Natsu how wrong he was.

"It's not. It isn't easy at all," Natsu snickered softly. "I have no idea what I'm doing, Luce."

She took Miles from him gently and set the baby in the crib before she responded. Running a finger down her son's cheek, she shook her head. "I don't either, Natsu. And I think," she turned to her husband again, "that that's part of what it means to be a parent."

Natsu smiled slowly, nodding in agreement – and relief at the fact that Lucy didn't know what she was doing either.

"Now," Lucy grinned, "how 'bout I make breakfast while you get some more sleep, hm?"

He grinned, picking up Happy and leaping up to hug and kiss his wife. "You're the best, Luce!"


End file.
